CW: Self harm, Vel get's their mirror power. 

Vel floats. 

Energy crackles around them. 

They feel the need to vomit, but their stomach is empty.

They are surrounded on all sides by roiling crackling power. Power that needs a direction.

They aren't together enough to direct it. 

But they remember this. 

They were broken before. Mentally.

Enough that their power read it as a call for help. They need....

Vel wakes up. Their eyes glow blue, but they can't see it. There is a faint static in the air.

Their chestplate shifts, rippling  through forms. Shirts, Dresses, Armor. Suits. 

Vel stumbles out of bed, likely knocking into Edith.

Edith jumps awake, The Maiden shifts into her true form of a shotgun, floating next to the bed.

Edith signs,

"Woah, hey, what's happening? You okay?"

"No. Magic coming. I need.... I need my lab. And a mirror." 

Vel's eyes start flickering side to side. Ideas. So many ideas. 

"And a surgery kit. I have that I."

Vel gets to the door. 

Stumbles a bit, as small bits of energy crackle around the door knob. 

They clutch their stomach a bit in pain.

Edith nods and makes sure Vel can stand, supporting them with her shoulder. She signs,

"I've got a kit, and I know how to use it. Tell me what I need to do."


"Just... Grab a mirror. Big. Close to my old one as possible. Makes it more likely the effect will be similar."

Vel leans on Edith some

"I ... I have a plan. I ... I need ink also. My tattoo kit."

Edith nods again. She walks them to the dining table and sits them down. Once she's sure that Vel is stable, she runs around her cabin, grabbing the materials. She briefly goes outside to grab a crowbar, and then runs back inside and disappears into the bathroom. You hear a bit of a struggle then, a loud crack.

Edith emerges, holding her bathroom mirror, a large square about half the size of Edith. She sets it down on the table last.

"Okay, what next, where am I cutting into you?"

"My hand. I can do it. I _need_ to do it. Just... Don't let me fall."

Vel grabs the Mirror. They focus on it. Images flicker across the mirror.

Vel watching people being gunned down. Vel having their nerves rewired. Iktan, a few others. Horrible things happening to them.

Vel has a look of focus on their face, as images flicker. 

Then with their left hand they slam their fist down into the mirror, causing it to shatter.  In the center of the mirror, one shard still flickers. 

Vel's hand comes back bloody. 

"Knife. I need to cut some of the skin off my palm."



Edith looks like she wants to do something, anything to make it so that Vel doesn't have to do this, but she knows that magic isn't that nice. She runs across the cabin and grabs her skinning knife, and a scalpel, bringing both just in case. She sets them down and wraps an arm around Vel's shoulder, her grip tight. Protective.



oh. Hugged. Not now

(CW: Body horror)
Vel grabs the scalpel, then Very quickly, slices 3 quick lines across their palm.

They toss the scalpel to the side.

will clean that later

They reach, and peel the skin up and off.

Okay. That's ready.

Vel grabs the flickering shard. A match in size and shape for the cut on their palm. They slide one end under their skin, embedding the mirror in their skin. The mirror starts to glow. As does their hand. Their eyes dim some.

"Okay.... Okay. That's stable. I need my tattoo kit. It's in my lab."

Carry me too it?

"I... I'm not sure I can make it without falling."

The skin around Vel's hand is starting to fizzle. The mirror shifting and bending.

You briefly see a Vel in that room, glowing in the same way, tied down with silver chains.

Edith frowns at the grisly scene, but she is no stranger to mutilation. If gore affected her, she'd be in a different line of work. She nods and picks up Vel again, bridal carry. She hustles over to the lab. You can feel her straining to carry the weight of a person and still open the door, but she gets inside.

She mouths to Vel,

"Where?"

Vel feels safe. 

I shouldn't like this so much. This is an emergency. She is just being a good friend.

"The desk. Second drawer. Just need that and light."

Edith nods and gently sits Vel down. Too quickly to be normal, Edith has the tattooing supplies and has flicked on the light. She pulls up a chair and sits next Vel, and holds places one of her leather gloves down alongside the tattooing kit. She points to it and signs,

"For biting."

Then she pulls up a chair and places just a hand on Vel's shoulder this time, but her grip is still firm.

Vel grabs the glove, and puts it in their teeth. 

They then wipe away the blood, holding their hand still. 

Taking the tattoo gun, they move quickly over their skin. Black lines. Chains. 

Around the bottom first. Then moving up... at some point tattooing over the mirror  as if the mirror was made of Vel's skin.

The glowing has left Vel's eyes at this point, focused around their hand, and shrinking there.

The chains shift and tighten over the shard of mirror.

The mirror flexes with Vel's hands.

After 5 minutes, things seem to have calmed. The light stops.

But Vel keeps working. Focused.


Edith stays there, keeping her hand on Vel's shoulder the entire time. Her eyes never leave them, looking for signs of something going wrong.

After a few hours, the chains are mostly around the mirror. And the mirror curves and bends like regular skin. 

The mirror flickers.

The mirror Vel flying through a clearing. Some sort of gas. They flinch. Their are chains on their wrists. 

Several more scenes flash. (Disturbing, Mirror Vel is forced through traumatic experiences.)

Then it is done.

Vel finishes a last few lines of black chain.

Then carefully places the tattoo gun down.

"It's... It's done. It worked."

Vel looks focused. Like they did a few days ago.


Edith lets out a breath she didn't know she was holding. She leans forward and rests her head against Vel's shoulder, staying there for a moment.

Vel leans her head against Ediths.

"Thank you. I'm sorry. I should have suspected something like that would happen."

Mr. Bear is Quiet, but at some point waddled in to be under Vel's chair.

He didn't touch them, not wanting to distract.

You hear an Edith laugh. She straightens up to sign.

"The fuck are you apologizing for? Yeah that was terrifying, but you do what you have to do. I'm just glad you're alright."

I don't deserve you. 

"Still. Your sleep and... Well. Thank you. "

Vel flexes their hand.

They wince a little. They sign back. They have a bit more of an accent to their ASL now. Their hand moves stiffly 

"Probably not perfect. I'll be lucky if the stiffness goes away ... "

Edith stops Vel mid signing.

"Hey, don't. That will need time to heal. Use those vocal cords of yours."

Vel smiles.

"Sorry. Silly of me."

"Thank you."

Edith smiles back.

"I got your back, always have, always will."

Vel's head and heart flip.

She doesn't mean that. She's a good friend and ally.

I wish she would hold me again

Vel smiles softly.

"I got your back too."

Edith stretches her left arm high above her head and stands up. Shaking off the stiffness, she signs,

"Okay. Let's get you back to bed. Can you walk?"

Vel nods. 

They stand.

A little shaky.

Mr. Bear climbs up to Vel's shoulders.

Edith leans down and gives Vel a shoulder to lean on. 

Vel leans on Edith. 

She's just helping you. Don't over think it.

Edith smiles and starts walking them to their bedroom, the moon still high in the sky. Once the two are back in Vel's room, Edith puts Vel beneath the covers.

"You still want company?"

Yes

Stop it. You fixed it. You barely remember why the contract upset you. Don't be a creep.

Vel opens their mouth.

"ye...yeah."

You idiot

Edith gives a simple smile and climbs in under the covers. Once she's comfortable, she signs,

"You know you're still taking tomorrow off, right?"

"Okay. I will."  Mistress

Fuck I'm such a creep. Stop it.

Edith gives a satisfied nod. She turns away from Vel and falls asleep very quickly.

Vel lifts a hand. Then puts it back down. They hug Mr. Bear. 

It takes a while before they sleep, but they have pleasant dreams.

Vel gets back late again. Around 10 pm

It was maybe a week since the last contract. 

They get to the house, and collapse on the front porch.

They look uninjured. Their eyes are unfocused. Tired.

Shaken.

Jupiter and Edith burst out the front door. Jupiter nervously paces around Vel as Edith gets down on her knees and does a quick check over. She feels for Vel's pulse, checks their eyes. She snaps in Vel's face and whistles, holding their head up to look at Edith, looking for a reaction.

Vel blinks slowly. Then flinches back a little.

"Bad. Won. But. Brain bad. Sorry. Need sleep."

Edith still looks incredibly concerned. Wordlessly she picks Vel up and bridal carries them to their bed.

She holds a hand to their forehead to check their temperature.

Vel curls into Edith instinctively, relaxing into her chest.

Their temperature is normal. A little clammy.

Edith is a funny mix of soft and solid. She has a decent amount of fat on her bones, but you can also feel the muscle underneath it all. Where you can feel her skin, it's a tapestry of different textures. All sorts of old scars crossing along her.

Looking slightly less concerned at the temperature check, she signs,

"You present enough to read my signs?"

Vel blinks a few times. 

They nod. They keep leaning against Edith. 

"It. I'm. My mind. It. I need my Mirror..."

Vel blinks a few times. Suddenly a little weepy, as they remember that that refuge has been taken from them as well.

Edith lets them, frowning. She takes a deep breath, signs.

"Worry about that later. Tomorrow, you're staying in. If I see you trying to leave, I will magically bind you to the floor if I have to. I'm making you food, and you're going to tell me about I can help you fix this, okay?"

Vel looks up at Edith.

They nod. 

"Okay."

Edith smiles a little sadly. She just stays there for a bit.

"You want me to stick around? Or should I leave you alone to sleep?"

sleep with me. Don't leave. Please. I need someone to take care of me

"You don't need to.  I'll be okay."

Edith frowns.

"I didn't ask if you needed me to. I know how terrifying this can be if you don't have someone watching over you. Do you want me to stick around?"

Vel bites a lip.  They look down over their body. A boy's body.

She doesn't like you. She can't give you what you want. You idiot. Why are you doing this?

"I... You don't. I have..."

Please stay. Please.

Mr. Bear crawls out of Vel's bag, having spent the last 5 minutes trying to figure out the Zipper.

"We can do a slumber party!"

Edith grumbles and rolls her eyes.

"You stupid utilitarian with a martyr complex. Stop trying to be self-sacrificing and let me take care of you tonight. You collapsed on the porch before you could even get inside, if you thought something would help, I am going to do it. But you need to *tell* me that it will help."

"Okay." Mistress

Bad. Bad brain. Stop it. Fuck.

Edith sighs, clearly relived.

"Thank the Gods. Okay, you want me to stay up and keep watch? Sit in the room and practice my guitar? Or should I sleep in the bed with you?"

Vel looks up at Edith.

They blue screen.

bedbedbedbedbed. No. No. Don't be weird. Just be normal.

"I don't need to sleep!" Mr Bear says helpfully.

He shifts on the bed, pushing Vel back and making space.

Edith smiles affectionately and labels each option "A" "B" and "C", respectively. She holds the hand that was listing out for Vel to easily gesture to.

Vel reaches out. 

They hesitate. 

You are an idiot. Don't ruin this.

They reach to touch B.

Mr. Bear pushes their hand to C.

Edith chuckles and signs a quick thank you to Mr. Bear. Edith strips down to her t-shirt and underwear (boxers, covering down to the middle of her thigh).

Then she moves the covers around Vel to get them under and climbs in next to them. She's smiling at Vel.

Vel clutches Mr. Bear tight.

Their clothes shift, becoming a very long shirt, almost a dress.

An electronic snake comes out of the shirt, and bites Vel, injecting nanites.

Their form shifts back to the Vel form. Edith first met. Their eyelids immediately droop as the exhaustion from the change hits them.

Don't over think this. She is being a good friend...

But... Maybe you can hug her maybe....

Vel's eyes droop a little more as they completely fall asleep.

Mr. Bear holds his arms out to Edith for hugging purposes.

Edith signs a quick "No thank you."

But she does move herself closer to Vel, hoping they can feel her body heat.

It is maybe 5 am when Vel gets back.
They are wearing the face of a young blond woman, in pink medical scrubs.

In the last week, they were occasionally a man. Large beard, big chest. A variety. They have been switching more to fem appearances, even when masc.

Jupiter immediately greets Vel, recognizing their scent. He affectionately rubs against theirleg.

Edith stirs slightly and turns over in her bed, checking the alarm clock plugged into the wall. She sighs and sits up right, signing. "That who I think it is?"

Vel blinks.

Tired. They yawn, and sign while yawning
"Yeah."

Vel pulls up their shirt, showing their stomach, which turns silver as their breast plate forms, shifting from image to reality.

"Sorry. Do you. Should I? If I get in at a weird hour I can sleep in my lab or something."

Edith makes that weird noise Vel has learned is a chuckle. "You woke me about thirty minutes early, your fine."

She stands, her oversized t-shirt hanging loosely off her shoulders. She starts walking to the kitchen. "I'll make you some... dinner it sounds like? Or is this breakfast?"

"um. Something. Yes please. I was hiking for the last.... while. Not a bad contract though. Mostly talking, then other people handled the violence at the end."
Vel blinks 

"Breakfast yeah. Should reset my schedule. I'm sorry. I have trail mix I can eat if you don't want to."

Edith smiles and waves Vel off.

"Relax, I'm not about to let you subsist off trail mix while I'm still able to stand. Now, sit."
She points to the dining table. "Standard eggs and potatoes alright? You want any toast?"

Vel moves straight to the dining table and sits. "uh. Yes please."

"Good, I like taking care of my friends, but breakfast still stays simple. Coffee and/or Tea?"


"Tea please." Vel closes their eyes for a moment, then shakes off the sleepyness.
"Umm...."
What to talk about? All the dying people? No, people don't like that ? The contract? No, that's too work talk... Maybe...
"Do you know any good stories about shape changing?"

Edith's eyebrows raise as she starts up her kitchen.

"Good stories about shape changing, huh? Well, most of the ones I have off the top of my head involve punishments from the Gods, or Zeus transforming to have an easier time sleeping with a mortal. Though, would you rather hear stories about transforming gender?"

Vel thinks for a moment.

"Well. The ideal is... Have I told you how my powers work? How I get my artifacts to do things? I think I mentioned the basics at Catan."

Edith shrugs.

"The basics, yes. But I'm always happy to learn."

Vel scratches Jupiter's head.

"So. I have this... amorphous power. It can be shaped by me and imbued by me into objects. The way I shape it is by using symbols in the ritual, and in the object."

Vel extends their hand, and a large, but thin breast plate pops out from their hand. It is covered in bits of tech, different stones, and some sheets of paper.

"I need this to be able to change. Ideally look like any clothes. To do that, I need something that means change. But not change of me. If it is change of me, then I could end up with a duplicate of what Laz can already make for me."

Yes. This is interesting, I can talk about this.

"So. I need stories that talk about change, but ones that are about clothing... or skin level maybe...."

Edith scratches her chin. "Magically changing clothing, huh? Don't know many of those from my neck of the mythological woods... First thought is Cinderella, but that would end up placing a hard limit, if I'm understanding you correctly?"

Vel nods.

"Probably. Although that could be part of it.

Sometimes I use multiple stories and shape it in different ways to get certain effects.

And you don't need just stories. Other symbolism works too. It's why my breast plate is made of metal. Metal is hard, so it's easy to get the idea of sturdy into the effect."

Edith nods along as she dices a potato, taking a quick break to sign.

"Interesting... You could maybe pull something from the end of the Odyssey? Odysseus is forced to disguise himself to great effect using nothing but his clothing. I could see some aspect of change and obscuring being drawn from that. There's also Achilles armor that Patroclus disguised himself with. But that's grasping at straws on my part, I think."

After dumping the potatoes in a pan, she signs.

"How does mixing stories work?"

Before quickly turning back to start stirring in the eggs.

Vel bites their lip a little as they think of how to explain this.

"It... so... Imagine you had to communicate with someone who couldn't sign. But you can't write. The only language you can use is images, and stories. 

With some stories being louder. Depending on how much... attention they have. How universal part of the meaning is. 

Mixing stories is a little like using the stories as words in a sentence. The grammar is how I apply them, what I do to them, when I do it. All of that is how I tell my power what I'm trying to do. What I'm trying to make."


Vel can see Edith's interest in her expression, even as she focuses on cooking. She signs a quick "Cool!" and gets back to making sure the eggs don't get stuck to the bottom of her pan.

Eventually, a bowl of pan fried potatoes mixed with scrambled eggs is placed in front of Vel with a spoon, alongside a mug of tea.

"Breakfast, courtesy of your favorite devotee of Artemis." She does a mock bow.

Vel smiles softly.

"Thank you... I haven't had someone cook for me in a while.... Is... Is it okay to talk about this? I don't want to be boring you."

Edith snorts.

"Vel. I am more than happy to hear about something my friend is passionate about. Especially when that thing also keeps them alive."

She walks over to her pantry and grabs some homemade jerky, then moves to her fridge and pulls out a nearly empty pot of rice. She dumps the preserved venison into the pot, then a small spattering of olive oil. Lastly, she grabs a spoon and sits down next to Vel.

"Besides, I've probably already signed your eyes numb about Artemis."

"Yeah, but that's like... Really interesting ! "

Edith squints, spoon sticking out of her mouth.

"And yours isn't?"

Vel looks to the side, they scoop some eggs into their mouth.

"I also... I just... I don't know what to talk about.... I was never good at downtime. Xem used to ... basically manage it for me."
"So.. I just keep talking about... work? Which some people don't like."

Edith smiles softly.

"I'm happy to talk to you about whatever. Either way it helps us get to know each other beyond just coworkers, even if it's about work."

A moment's hesitation,

"Can I ask who Xem is?"

Vel shrugs.

"Xem was my.... my person. My best friend since we were children. My roommate. She... took care of me, and I took care of her.... She got a boyfriend, so... A little less me taking care of her ... But. 

She was who I lived with before I did contracts. Before left the country. Before I faked my death.... She is probably what I miss most."

Edith frowns, a look of genuine hurt on her face.

"I'm sorry that you've lost her."

Vel shrugs. 

Mr. Bear undoes Vel's backpack from within, crawling out to hug Vel's leg.

"I was worth it. She... probably would have been in danger. It was dangerous to stay with her for as long as I did."
Vel blinks several times

Edith's mouth quirks into a slightly confused slant.

"Just because something was the right call doesn't mean it can't hurt."

Vel nods. They keep eating. They eat very quickly. Probably too quickly.

The sign.

"Yeah. Yeah. I know. I'm sorry.... This... I'm exhausted, and super hungry. Can we talk after I eat and sleep. I'll. Tell you all about her and stuff."

Vel keeps blinking quickly. A tear does escape out a corner of their eye. Mr. Bear keeps hugging them.

Edith's hands falter, she starts a couple signs but never actually says anything for a bit. Eventually, she signs,

"Ah, *shit.* Sorry. I'm... not good at talking to people, you... you don't have to talk about anything you don't want to talk about. I just know how bad it can be to bottle your shit up. Makes it burn. And, if you ever need to open that bottle, I'm here for you."

"A-also please try to eat slowly, you'll make yourself sick."

Vel starts to eat more slowly.

"No it's. I like. I. Sorry."

Edith makes that funny laughing noise.

"You've got nothing to apologize for, I'm the one who stressed you out."

Vel slowly relaxes. 

But. I want you to stress me out.

They don't say. 

They finish their food.

They tell Edith the full story later.